MEET JIM FITZPATRICK
Job: Founder and CEO of CBT News and Fitzpatrick Advertising
Family: Divorced with four children
Education: Did not attend college
Favorite movie: "42"
Reading: "Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption," by Laura Hillenbrand
Former car salesman Jim Fitzpatrick was not impressed with the ad and marketing agencies that catered to his industry, so he launched his own firms, Force Marketing and Fitzpatrick Advertising.
Now, Fitzpatrick, 51, has gone one step further by founding a TV-like operation on the Internet called CBT News, for Car Biz Today. The Alpharetta-based website has an anchorman, Russell Brown, an anchorwoman, Bridget Everett, and producers, directors, cameramen and a glitzy set.
Fresh car news is provided every morning at www.cbtnews.com. It’s aimed at helping dealers sell more vehicles, so it includes tips for sales people, as well as the latest automotive news.
Q: What’s the total revenue for the three operations you founded?
A: About $36 million all together. We'll do just under a million on CBT News, about $30 million for Force Marketing and $5 million for Fitzpatrick Advertising.
We have 11 people at CBT, 22 at Fitzpatrick Advertising and 50 at Force Marketing. Force Marketing is now separate and is run by my son, John, who is the CEO.
Q: How does CBT work?
A: CBT News is an online news source for the retail automotive industry. We provide new-car dealers with a daily newscast, in-depth interviews with industry executives and information about events in the auto industry.
In addition, we provide tips given by the leading trainers in sales, service, marketing and management.
Q: You sold cars and ran dealerships. Why create a TV-like show for the Internet?
A: It was a way to get out news that dealers could use. It's only for them and their employees. There is no cost and it is received by 63,000 individuals. They wake up to a newsletter, that day's headlines of what's going to be featured in the news show.
We do written material or videos on how to motivate a sales force. The show and news is sponsored by advertisers on the site. Advertisers include companies that cater to retail automotive — people who sell insurance to them, for example.
We aggregate news. With the exception of interviews, everything is provided from other publications. The stories on the site are from solid news sources, like NBC and Automotive News.
Q: How long is the newscast, which can be watched over and over?
A: We shoot the show in the morning. The broadcast is four to seven minutes. Car dealers want a digest version.
But there is all you can read in written form on the site. If a news article breaks, the anchors will come in and discuss it. We do a lot of Skype interviews. I do interviews.
And we’re going to expand. This just launched in 2012, but we’ll have revenues of about a million from advertisers.
Q: What’s next for CBT?
A: In late July, we will be launching our own career site on the CBT News homepage. This will be for dealers trying to find good people and for job seekers looking for positions within the retail auto industry, whether it's in the sales, finance or service departments.
Q: Tell me about the other two businesses you founded, Force Marketing and Fitzpatrick Advertising.
A: Force got into selling not just full ad services, but turnkey marketing campaigns for dealers. We provide the printing, all the creative, come up with the name of events for dealers. We handle the whole deal. My son runs Force Marketing in Buckhead. He works with new-car dealers on jobs and events. He has purchased a lot of the company from me.
Fitzpatrick Advertising, which I run, does TV, radio, billboards, print advertising. We have clients all over the country.
Q: How did you get started?
A: I was a retail car salesman. For a long time, I was sitting on the other side of the desk and was not impressed with (advertising and marketing) agencies. I wanted to put out a marketing company that caters to the car business. I'm now the car guy who runs an ad agency.
Q: How has auto advertising changed during the past decade?
A: The average dealer 10 years ago spent 30 percent of the ad budget on print ads in local major newspapers. Today, that is less than 8 percent. That was directly replaced by digital.
Q: How has auto shopping changed?
A: Millennials skip showrooms. They shop online. Ten years ago, the average person would shop as many as seven showrooms before buying a car. Now that's 1.5. The digital arena has developed.
Shoppers are taking information from social websites. The vast majority of auto dealers are still trying to get their hands around it — how to compete in the social media space. Many go out and hire somebody who knows social and digital, and that person can almost write his or her paycheck.
About the Author
